There is no consensus how best to implement security in IoT

You probably have seen people suffering Cyberphobia or Technophobia. They cannot explain “the irrational fear from the robots of the future or the aversion to connected computers”. If our conversation includes robots then the reaction is often violent. It scares us to think that every time we are more controlled by machines or machines become more human.

After many years working in various technological companies, some even as a specialist in Communication Network Security, I am convinced that we cannot eliminate all risk and hazards associated with being so connected. Therefore, one of my first posts in my IoT blog was “Are you prepared to answer M2M/IoT security questions of your customers ?”, and it was not by chance. Security and data privacy are probably the most repeated questions that arise in any discussion about IoT, whether I talk to customers, with other colleagues or with friends and family.

There will a lot of money derived of IoT (according with Cisco: The Internet of Everything is a $19 trillion global opportunity over the next decade), an irresistible temptation for the cybercriminal community. Any failure to secure the Internet of Things could have enormous consequences across every manifestation of the connected planet, conceivably threatening the global economy.

There is no consensus how best to implement security in IoT at the device, network, cloud and system levels. Do not expect, unfortunately, a “silver bullet” that can effectively mitigate every possible cyber-threat. Given the novelty of IoT and the pace of innovation today, there seems to be a general expectation that some entirely new, revolutionary security solution will emerge that is uniquely tailored to IoT.

Companies like Cisco launched an industry-wide initiative to bring the security community together to address securing the Internet of Things (IoT Security Grand Challenge). McAfee, the Intel Security subsidiary said that to ensure the foundation of IoT security, IP-connected devices must be designed with protection standards built into the devices, and not as an afterthought. Intel has announced the launch of a new solution that it says will boost retailer security at the point of sale (PoS) and help speed up the adoption of the ‘Internet of Things’ within the industry. The company M2Mi offers M2M Cyber Security solutions for the M2M and IoT economy, just to mention a few.

US Government is encouraging citizens to work together to build a “Critical Infrastructure and the Internet of Things” that keeps the Nation running. The systems that support electricity, financial services, transportation, and communications are increasingly interconnected and we must rest assured that our homes and businesses will have power, our transportation systems will get us where we need to go, and our communication systems will help us connect at work and at home.

Will be enough for mitigate the risk? Will get all these security expert companies take away the fear of our body ?.

Our generation growth with the fear to computers and robots thanks to movies like 2001, A space Odyssey, WarGames, Terminator, Blade Runner or The Matrix. Doesn´t matter if you are a Digital Native or Digital Immigrant, we all are concerned not know who, how and when accessing our digital data or how our personal information are jumping from cloud to cloud.

Of course I’m worried knowing someone can hack my fridge, my car, my smartphone, my wearables or many other connected things, but what really scares me is that one day these things take the control and I do not have the power to unplug it.